Tafseer
Tafsir (Arabic: تفسير, translit.: Tafsīr, Meaning: interpretation) is the Arabic word for exegesis, usually of the Qur'an. An author of tafsir is a mufassir (Arabic: مُفسر‎, mufassir, plural: Arabic: مفسرون‎, mufassirūn). Etymology The word tafsīr is derived from the Arabic root, F-S-R which means to explain, to expound, to disclose.1 In Islamic contexts, it is defined as understanding and uncovering the Will of Allah which has been conveyed by the Qur'anic text, by means of the Arabic language and one’s own knowledge.2 This definition includes; * determining the style of the text and its eloquence * defining unknown or otherwise less used words * the clarification of the meanings of verses * extraction of laws and rulings * explaining the underlying thoughts in metaphors and figurative speech * reconciling verses that seem contradictory * finding out the underlying reasons for parables History Muhammad The first examples of tafsir can be traced back to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. During his prophethood, as the Qur'an was revealed to him, he recited the verses to his companions, usually explaining their meanings to teach them. This is one of Muhammad's responsibilities.3 Elements of Muhammad's explanations are; * Clarifying verses whose intents are not understood * Indication of names, places, times etc. which have not been mentioned in the verse * Restriction of meanings which have been given as absolute * Reconciling expressions which seem contradictory Although scholars including ibn Taymiyyah claim that Muhammad has commented on the whole of the Qur'an, others including Ghazali cite the limited amount ofnarratives, thus indicating that he has commented only on a portion of the Qur'an. These interpretations have not been collected independently in a book, rather, they have been recorded in hadith books, under the topic of tafsir, along with other narrations of Muhammad.4 Sahabah (companions of Muhammad) After the death of Muhammad, his companions, the Sahabah, undertook the task of interpretation, thus starting a new age in tafsir. Most of the Sahabah, includingAbu Bakr, refrained from commenting with their personal views, and only narrated comments by Muhammad. Others including ibn Abbas used their own knowledge from the Arabic language to interpret the Qur'an. At this stage, the Qur'an was still not fully interpreted, and commentaries were not separated from the hadith collection nor written separately, mainly due to other occupations such as the collection of the Qur'an.5 Successors (tabi'in and beyond) By the time of the next generations ensuing the Sahabah, the tabi'in scholars started using a wide range of sources for tafsir. The whole of the Qur'an is interpreted, and narrations are separated from tafsir into separate books and literature. Grammatical explanations and historical data are preserved within these books; personal opinions are recorded, whether accepted or rejected. Methodology The mufasireen (exegetes) listed 15 fields that must be mastered before one can authoritatively interpret the Quran.6 # Classical Arabic: Is how one learns the meaning of each word. Mujahid (rah) said, “It is not permissible for one who holds faith in Allah and the Day of Judgment to speak on the Quran without learning classical Arabic.” In this respect, it should be known that classical Arabic must be mastered in its entirety because one word may have various meanings; a person may only know two or three of them whereas the meaning of that word in the Quran may be altogether different. # Arabic Philology: Is important because any change in the diacritical marks affects the meaning, and understanding the diacritical marks depends on the science of Arabic philology. # Arabic morphology: is important because changes in the configuration of verb and noun forms change the meaning. Ibn Faris said, “A person who misses out on Arabic morphology has missed out on a lot.” # Al-Ishtiqaaq: should be learned because sometimes one word derives from two root words, the meaning of each root word being different. This is the science of etymology which explains the reciprocal relation and radical composition between the root and derived word. For example, masih derives from the root word masah which means “to feel something and to touch something with a wet hand,” but also derives from the root word masaahat which means “to measure.” # Ilm-ul-Ma’ani: is the science by which one figures the syntax through the meaning of a sentence. # Ilm-ul-Bayaan: is the science by which one learns the similes, metaphors, metonymies, zuhoor (evident meanings) and khafa (hidden meanings) of the Arabic language. # Ilm-ul-Badi’: The science by which one learns to interpret sentences which reveal the beauty and eloquence of the spoken and written word. The above mentioned three sciences are categorized as Ilm-ul-Balagha (science of rhetoric). It is one of the most important sciences to a mufassir because he is able to reveal the miraculous nature of the Quran through these three sciences. # Ilm-ul-Qira'at: Dialecticisms of the different readings of the Quran. This science is important because one qira'at (reading) of the Quran may differ in meaning from another, and one learns to favor one reading over another based on the difference in the meanings. # Ilm-ul-Aqaa’id: is important because we cannot attribute the literal meaning of some ayaat to Allah. In this case, one will be required to interpret the ayah as in ‘the hand of Allah is over their hand’. # Usul-ul-Fiqh: are the principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. It is important to master this field so one understands the methodology of legal derivation and interpretation. # Asbaab-ul-Nuzul: is the field by which one learns the circumstances in which an ayah is revealed. It is important because the meaning of the ayah is more clearly understood once the circumstances in which it was revealed are known. Sometimes, the meaning of an ayah is wholly dependent on its historical background. # Ilm-ul-Naskh: is knowledge of the abrogated ayaat. This field is important because abrogated rulings must be separated from the applied rulings. # Fiqh: Jurisprudence. This field is important because one cannot gain an overview of any issue until he has understood its particulars. # Ilm-ul-Hadith: is knowledge of the ahadith which explain mujmal (general) ayaat. # Ilm Laduuni: Last but not least is the endowed knowledge which Allah grants to his closest servants. They are the servants indicated in the hadith: “Allah Y will grant one who acts upon whatever he knows from a knowledge he never knew.” There are two main methods and one prohibited method of commenting on the Qur'an: